Buffalo Niagara duplicate bridge notes: July 4, 2026

 

News and notes for the Buffalo area duplicate bridge community appear weekly here at http://newsdupli.blogspot.com/, usually by midweek.

Coming up next weekend is the Buffalo Summer Sectional Tournament at the Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Pairs games start at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11, and Swiss teams get underway at 10 a.m. Sunday, July 12. For more info, click this link.

Congratulations to Saleh Fetouh, who earned the most master points among Buffalo area players at the Cleveland All American Regional Tournament June 23 to June 28. He won 48.94 points and was 14th overall. Also doing well in Cleveland were Linda Burroughford and Davis Heussler, who tied for 18th with 40.75 points, and Dian Petrov, who was 21st with 38.23. In all, 303 players collected points.

Is anyone interested in a face-to-face evening game if one was available? Inquiring minds want to know. There used to be an abundance of evening games in the Buffalo area 20 or 30 years ago. Email me at dahotwings@aol.com and I’ll pass your message along to people who are trying to organize one.

A new round of lessons is under way at the Buffalo Bridge Center. A class on competitive bidding, covering things like overcalls, pre-emptive bids and doubles, continues Wednesdays at 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. through Aug. 26. For more info, text 716-984-3570. On Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m., there’s another class on popular bidding conventions. It runs through Aug. 27. For that one, text 716-949-7574 for info.

The Buffalo Bridge Center has a regular lineup of in-person games Tuesday through Friday with party games once a month on weekends, usually on Sundays. Next one is July 19. For more info, visit the club’s website at https://buffalobridgecenter.godaddysites.com/ or call 716-424-0014. Fee for games is $8 for members and $12 for non-members. Membership is $80 annually.

Online games hosted by the Bridge Center at 7 p.m. Monday and Wednesday have been transferred from Bridge Base Online to a new platform, RealBridge. For more info, including a player guide, visit realbridge.online. The Wednesday game, Delaware Wednesday, has been inactive since mid-March.

In addition, the club hosts a supervised play session for players who want experience and advice to improve their game from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, which has been a great success. Small games now have been added to the session. All are welcome. No pre-registration is required, but things work out better if those interested in supervised play get in touch with Julie Mitchell by calling 845-978-9480 or emailing jkmitchell070121@gmail.com.

Also popular is the club’s social bridge game just for fun at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays. Signup needed for this one. Call Ruth Nawotniak at 716-949-7574 or email at ruth2250@outlook.com. 

The Bridge Center has started its mentoring program again. Experienced players who want to share their knowledge with novices are encouraged to sign up. So should new players who want to pick up tips from the masters. Call Pat Haynes at 716-472-5189 or email phaynes508@roadrunner.com.

Other ACBL sanctioned clubs: Bridge Club of East Aurora games are at 10 a.m. Wednesdays in the Aurora Senior Citizens Center, 101 King St., East Aurora. Contact is Dave Larcom at dmocral@verizon.net.

The Bridge Centre of Niagara (BCON) in St. Catharines, Ont., offers face-to-face games five days a week at its club in Tremont Square opposite the Pen Centre shopping plaza off Glendale Avenue. Website is bridgewebs.com/Niagara.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake Bridge Club plays in the Community Centre in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., on Anderson Lane off Mississauga Street on the western end of the village. Open games are at 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. Website is bridgewebs.com/niagaraonthelake.

Non-sanctioned clubs: Games are held at 12:30 p.m. Mondays and Fridays in the Amherst Senior Center and at 12:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Tonawanda Senior Center.

Upcoming tournaments

Buffalo Summer Sectional – Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Friday, July 10, to Sunday, July 12. For more info, click this link.

Oakville Summer Regional – St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. West, Oakville, Ont. Tuesday, July 21, to Sunday, July 26. For more info, click this link.

Rochester Summer Sectional – Gates Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road (Route 33), Rochester. Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26.

Niagara 0-750 Sectional – Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Center, 14 Anderson Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Friday, Aug. 14, to Sunday, Aug. 16. For more info, click this link.

Great Lakes Sectional – Erie Bridge Club, 1221 Grant Ave., Erie, Pa. Saturday, Aug. 29, and Sunday, Aug. 30. For more info, click this link.

Toronto Labor Day Sectional – St. Volodymyr Cultural Centre, 1280 Dundas St. West, Oakville, Ont. Saturday, Sept. 5, to Monday, Sept. 7. For more info, click this link.

Pittsburgh Labor Day Regional – Doubletree Meadowlands, 340 Racetrack Road, Washington, Pa. Monday, Sept. 14, to Sunday, Sept. 20.

Buffalo Fall Sectional – Buffalo Bridge Center, 60 Dingens St. Friday, Sept. 25, to Sunday, Sept. 27. For more info, click this link.

Rochester Fall Sectional – Gates Community Center, 1605 Buffalo Road (Route 33), Rochester. Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11.

Niagara Open Sectional – Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Center, 14 Anderson Lane, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. Friday, Nov. 6, to Sunday, Nov. 8. For more info, click this link.

Scores from ACBL Live for Clubs

Week of June 22 to June 28

Buffalo Bridge Center Monday evening – 0-900 game online. (Tie) Fran Riordan and Davis Schott, Leslie Deich and Biswajit Chandra, 61.11%; Terry Camp and Fran Schmidt, 57.41$; Susan Mann Dolce and Jim Hildebrand, 48.15%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Tuesday morning – 0-1,600 game. North-South, Joanne Nover and David Schott, 63.81%; Audrey Ray and Agi Maisel, 62.46%; Betty Defeo and Adrian Figliotti, 52.33%; Jini and John Rubenstein, 52.04%; east-west, Carol Licata and Ilene Rothman, 61.24%; Ruth Nawotniak and Betty Metz, 59.01%; Nathan and Bill Kross, 55.20%; Dennis Daly and Brian Fleming, 53.54%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Wednesday morning – Open game. (Tie) Chris Urbanek and Kamil Bishara, Jay Costello and Bud Seidenberg, 61.46%; Donna Steffan and Jim Gullo, 58.33%; Terry Fraas and Ed Morgan, 52.08%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Thursday morning – 0-2,000 game. Paula Kotowski and Ed Morgan, 59.03%; Paula Rosen and Judy Zeckhauser, 56.75%; Julie Mitchell and Walt Olszewski, 55.97%; Joanne Nover and Bonnie Clement, 55%.

Buffalo Bridge Center Friday morning – Open game. Chris Urbanek and Kamil Bishara, 59.38%; Judy Graf and John Ziemer, 53.13%; Tova and Andrei Reinhorn, 52.08%.

Bridge Club of East Aurora Wednesday morning – Open game. Mary Terrana and Gordon Crone, 68.06%; Sandi England and Walt Olszewski, 63.19%; Paula Kotowski and Judy Kaprove, 53.47%; Dan Clark and Dave Larcom, 50%.

Non-sanctioned clubs

Amherst Senior Center Monday afternoon – North-south, Edna and Ron Fill, 53.9%; Connie Wilson and Miriam Regnet, 53.6%; east-west, Mary and Jim Atwood, 59.2%; Gus Alfano and James Cook, 58.6%.

Amherst Senior Center Friday afternoon – North-south, Shirley Cassety and George Mayers, 59%; Paul Orosz and Nels Larson, 58%; east-west, Betty Metz and Ruth Nawotniak, 61%; Carol Neuhaus and Fritz Schweiger, 55%.

Tonawanda Senior Center Wednesday afternoon – Susan and Harvey Lichtblau, 62.5%; Judy White and Fritz Schweiger, 56.2%; Christel Bernard and Pierre Williot, 55%.

A Gold Life Master, Dale Anderson has compiled notes on duplicate bridge activities locally since he began playing in competition more than 20 years ago. He reached a career milestone, 3,000 master points, at the Buffalo Fall Sectional Tournament last September. You can call or text him at 716-860-2305. Email is dahotwings@aol.com.